THE MOTHER of Eimear Noonan, a young Irish woman who died in France has paid tribute to the support her family received during the difficult time when her daughter was missing.
Eimear Noonan, 21, a teacher from Co. Clare, was last seen going for a run in the town of Annonay, southeast France before she was found dead.
Her body was found in a local park and it was found that the young woman fell while running and hit her head, causing trauma that she died from.
The Noonan family had flown to France to join the search for Claire before her body was found and flew home with her body for the funeral. But in that trying time, Mary has told of the kindness and generosity her family encountered in their most difficult time.
Mary wrote a letter to her friends and neighbours, which Ryan Tubridy read on air on RTÉ's Radio One
The letter began: "Dear community spirit,
"I wish to salute you on this beautifully snowy December morning from the shores of Lough Rainey in northeast Clare.
"I’ve been thinking of you a lot, especially in the long hours before dawn as I haven’t been sleeping too well recently.
"I want to pay tribute to you. You who are the lifeblood of communities - particularly rural communities - the throbbing, beating, loving, caring, compassionate heart of Ireland and yet, you are so under-rated, so undervalued.
"It’s only with the heart that one sees clearly."
Mary Noonan also thanked people for their actions in aiding her family through their grief: "We are heartened and humbled by your actions and in awe of the potential and hope you bring for the future of communities such as ours and indeed for our country.
"So while we attempt to plough through the ocean of grief at our loss on this, our first Christmas without our darling daughter, we want to thank you sincerely from the bottom of our broken hearts.
She also said her local community have given her hope for the future, despite the tragic loss of her daughter: "You bring so much hope for the future, you are what makes Ireland such a wonderfully special place.
"You give hope to the depressed, the forgotten, the homeless, because it is only with the spirit and resolve such as yours that we can overcome all obstacles and begin to live again."
"It was when we returned to Ireland a week later that we were completely stunned by the unbelievable community spirit that saw us cope through the early days of this tragedy, and like so many others who have suffered the loss of a child, our lives have changed irrevocably."
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